Head Back to the Milky Way
by inkheart9459
Summary: Andy has little clue of where to take Miranda on their first date, but luck for her an idea strikes her just as she looks out the window.
Sequel to Playing Possum, though for the most part you can read this on its own with the knowledge that this is a first date fic. Prompt from mirandaapriestly on tumblr "Things you said after we kissed"

* * *

Andy knew from the second she started to Google things that she couldn't go down any of the conventional routes for a date. Dinner at a nice restaurant would be good for later dates, ones that were special but not too special. Miranda had been wined and dined by people a hell of a lot more impressive than Andy and Miranda hadn't even blinked. Then again most of those guys had been talking assholes, but that was totally beside the point.

The point was that she knew she had to do something outside the box for the one woman in the world that predicted trends before they even happened if she didn't make them herself. There were a million things to do in the city so she was sure she could find something that would please her and Miranda. But the thing was, the more she looked, the more she found things that were nice, but not original, original, but definitely not up to Miranda level standards, and things that didn't meet either of those criteria.

After a weekend of frantic Googling here she was on Monday with the date less than four days away and she still had nothing. She blew out a sigh and looked into Miranda's office, dark now that the other woman had gone home an hour or so before. She frowned at the glimpse of building that she saw out the window instead of sky. That was the one thing she missed about Ohio, actually being able to see the sky and stars.

Andy wondered just how long it had been since Miranda had really seen the stars. Or had actually concentrated on them, anyway. She was sure the other woman could actually see some stars from her house in the Hamptons, but there she was usually focused on the girls or on work or a million other things.

She sat back in her chair. Maybe the answer to this date dilemma wasn't in the city at all. Andy drummed her nails on her desk for a few seconds, thinking. Miranda didn't exactly strike her as an outdoors-y type, but then again, she knew the woman had hidden depths that even she didn't know about. Before she became the goddess of fashion she had to have had hobbies. She didn't have time for hobbies anymore, Andy knew, she saw her schedule, planned it out even. What little extra time the woman did have was probably used to catch up on sleep. But had one of those hobbies been something to do with the outside world or were they more art skewed?

Andy picked up her phone and dialed Roy.

"Andy, is the Book ready?"

"No, um, sorry, I just have a question."

"Well, I'd be happy to answer it if I have the answer."

Andy heard the smile in his voice and it put her more at ease. "How long do you think it would take to get far enough out of town that I could see the stars?"

"Depends on when and where you wanna go, but probably about an hour and a half or so if traffic is ok."

"What about traffic out of the city on Fridays?"

He hummed. "Well, it's a damn sight better than trying to get into the city on a Friday, let me tell you. Past rush hour it should be fine. Why, got plans to go out this weekend?"

Andy hesitated slightly. She would need Roy for this plan obviously, but how much to tell him was the real question.

"I'm actually trying to figure out something for Miranda this weekend." That was vague enough not to sound like a date. "And I'll be with her of course, so maybe?"

"Well, whatever you decide just give me a heads up and I'll make sure the car is all gassed up and ready to go if we're heading out of the city."

Andy sighed lightly. Roy was such a great guy. She'd take ten of him over any clacker any day. "Thanks, Roy. I'll let you know, and I'll text you whenever the Book finally gets done."

A clacker rounded the corner right then, Book in hand. "Wait, never mind, the Book just got here."

"Ok, I'll be around in a minute then."

"Thanks Roy, see you in a minute."

She hung up and took the Book from the clacker who looked about half a second from rolling her eyes at Andy before she turned on her very expensive heels and walked out. She shook her head. There were some things about this job she couldn't wait to leave behind. She looked over her shoulder into Miranda's office again. And some things she didn't. She snapped out of it and grabbed all of her stuff and headed down to meet Roy.

* * *

To say that Andy was nervous was the understatement of the century. She glanced over her appearance one more time and nodded. She looked damn good and she knew it, but she also was wearing things that were practical. Or as practical as clothes got when you worked at Runway. They weren't really doing anything that rated upgrading from fashionable and practical to just plain practical, though. She definitely wouldn't risk something that out of the box on the first date. She was worried enough as is about what she had planned.

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she almost jumped. Roy and Miranda were downstairs. Thankfully she'd gathered up literally everything she'd needed earlier because she knew she'd be a mess when Miranda finally got here. She grabbed up her bag and rushed out the door, only barely remembering to lock it and made her way downstairs.

The town car was sitting by the curb waiting for her. Roy got out when he saw her and opened the door. She smiled at him and slipped in. Miranda was sitting on her normal side, looking over at Andy with appraising eyes. Andy's breath hitched in her throat. Holy shit, this was next level from the stares she got at Runway and she couldn't say she didn't like it.

"Hi," Andy said, a bit of awkwardness bleeding into her tone. She looked over Miranda and was thankful to see that the other woman had listened to her when she said to dress practically. She was in designer jeans that were tight enough that Andy was thanking the fashion gods for skinny jeans for once, and a casual button up shirt the same color blue as her eyes. It was the most dressed down she'd ever seen Miranda and it was beyond words.

"Hello, Andrea, good to see that you keep a sense of fashion even outside of work."

Andy just cocked an eyebrow as if to say 'I was going on a date with you, of course I dressed in more than sweatpants.' She saw the corners of Miranda's lips turn up at that look as she turned to look out the window as the car started to move.

"And where exactly are we going that I needed to dress down instead of up?" Miranda asked.

Butterflies fluttered in Andy's stomach. This was it. "I pulled a few strings with the people at Minnewaska State Park to let us have a night picnic on one of the more secluded hills. They said that the view from up there at night is spectacular."

She bit her lip waiting for Miranda's judgement. What had she been thinking? A picnic under the stars? How cliché was that? And she called herself a writer. This would totally be their first and last date all because she was an idiot who couldn't think outside the box.

Miranda hummed and turned back towards Andy. "Well, I'll admit, it has been quite a while since I've been hiking for any length of time or had a picnic for that matter. The girls aren't quite as interested in the outdoors as they once were. I've missed it, getting out of the city for something other than business."

Andy blinked stupidly. Surely Miranda hadn't just said that this trip wasn't actually a bad idea. Because if she had said that this trip was a good idea then Andy had been beating herself up for nothing. And that she had gotten it right and that this wouldn't be their last date, if she didn't screw it up some other way, anyway.

A smile lit up her face and she slumped down in her seat. "Well, I'm glad you liked the idea."

Miranda's eyes missed nothing. "You were worried whether I would approve."

"Of course I was, Miranda. You're you and add that to the fact that it's a first date it was doubly nerve wracking."

Miranda reached out and took Andy's hand. "I can't say I would have approved of us dining in a cardboard box, but I'm not sure I would have cared overmuch, Andrea. Right now it's the company that matters, or have you forgotten that a week ago I thought this was a silly dream of mine?"

Andy felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and she knew that the bright lights around her weren't going to hide that fact even though it was dusk all around them. "No I didn't, but…still. I did want to impress you and I wanted to be original. Dinner is nice, but god knows that's what everyone does."

"You could have been original even if you had because for once I would have actually enjoyed the dinner." Miranda snorted out a laugh. "Most men have no idea how to make conversation. Women are better, but it has been a great while since I've been on a date with another woman. And you, well, Andrea, I know you are a good conversationalist when you stop stuttering and tripping over yourself."

"Um, thanks, that actually means a lot coming from you."

Miranda just smiled and kept holding Andy's hand.

"Oh, uh." Andy reached for her bag and drew out a few Tupperware containers and some napkins. "It's going to be about two hours before we get there, so I figured I'd bring some snacks if you were hungry now."

Miranda withdrew her hand and took one of the containers, looking inside. "Prosciutto?"

Andy nodded and held up the other containers. "And olives and little balls of mozzarella."

"How very tapas bar of you." She opened the container she was holding and drew out of piece and popped it in her mouth elegantly. How the woman could eat elegantly in the back of a car was a mystery, but then again, Andy wasn't really surprised.

She opened the other containers and dug in herself, grabbing a ball of mozzarella and eating it. She sighed and closed her eyes. She was immensely glad she'd spent a little more on the high quality stuff because damn, it was good.

When she opened her eyes again Miranda was staring at her, hungry in more ways than one. Andy swallowed hard almost choked on some of the cheese she'd just swallowed. Wow, this woman was actually going to kill her. Who would have thought.

Miranda took an olive from the other container and ate it slowly. And there should have been nothing seductive about eating an olive, but Miranda had broken yet another rule because Andy's heart was pounding. Yup, definitely out to kill her, this one.

They ate their fill as Roy steadily drove them out of the city, the lights around them dimming slightly as they made it into the suburbs and then out of civilization completely. The highway was surrounded by trees, green signs flashing past them the only sign of civilization. This was how Andy remembered car trips from when she was young, nothing around them but the road and other cars, driving through the night to get to wherever they needed to be. There was a sense of peace in it.

Her and Miranda spoke quietly through the trip about everything they could think of, she learned some about Miranda's childhood, Miranda learned some about hers, there was talk of the girls, there was talk of Andy's new niece that she hadn't seen yet but couldn't wait to so she could spoil the kid rotten, they talked of hobbies, or writing and art, of college experiences, about random facts that Andy had picked up reading fact books as a child, of foreign languages shared because Andy had just decided in college to learn Italian and Miranda had learned it for Runway purposes, about Miranda's favorite foods, most of which she didn't eat except for on special occasions anymore, about Andy's favorites that came out every time she had a bad day at work, every single subject flowed from one to the other seamlessly and Andy wasn't sure she'd ever talked with a person without any awkward pauses or subject changes in the middle of her own thoughts. It was free and easy, like they were reading the other's mind somehow and Andy wanted more and more of it.

Their conversation was interrupted though, when Roy finally pulled to a stop in the park. Andy saw the path they were supposed to take almost immediately, lit up by a soft glow from little lamps every few feet. It looked perfect and worth every single time she had to beg, bargain, and plead to make what she wanted to happen, happen without dropping Miranda's name. She wanted this night to be about them, not about the paparazzi that would show up if someone let slip that Miranda would be showing up at the park that night.

Andy got out of the car and hurried around to Miranda's side and opened the door for her. She offered a hand which Miranda took as she flowed to her feet and looked around with a small smile on her face.

"Well, Andrea, I am aware that you can work miracles, but this looks like it might be one of your best yet."

Andy didn't quite know what she was going to do with herself. So many compliments from Miranda in one night. It was like the planets had all aligned for this occasion and Andy was damned if she wasn't going to take advantage of a once in a life time opportunity.

"Asking nicely does get me places and demanding in an authoritative tone gets me the rest." She shrugged. "I'm just glad you like it."

Miranda squeezed Andy's hand and tugged her forward. "Indeed I do. But come along, even with your little snack I'm famished. Contrary to popular belief I do actually eat, even if the rest of Runway doesn't."

The hike wasn't hard, only about fifteen minutes or so on a gentle incline. With the workouts she'd been squeezing in every day she made it just fine. Miranda hadn't blinked an eye either, but with a body like hers Andy didn't think she would. Her mind flashed to thoughts about just how firm the other woman's ass would be under her palms before she reined it in. It was only the first date.

The top of the hill brought a picnic blanket laid out carefully, and a picnic basket placed right on top. If all the planning had been up to par it would have just been dropped off ten minutes or so before they got there and everything would still be hot. Everything else so far had been perfect, so Andy had faith. The people at this park were going to get her recommendation for literally everything now.

She looked out over the hills that spread out before them. Their little gentle hill had a steep drop off on the other side and the rest of the park laid out before them, dark and still in the night. Andy looked up above them, and sure enough, there were stars everywhere and the faint white tint of the Milky Way. She smiled wide and pulled Miranda to her, releasing her hand just to wrap her arm around the woman's waist. Miranda for her part didn't resist, taking in the sights around them just as much as Andy was.

"It seems my suspicions have been confirmed," Miranda said quietly, breaking the little spell between them gently.

Andy looked back at Miranda to find eyes that had turned midnight blue in the darkness looking at her. They froze for a moment, not knowing what to do. Andy wanted to kiss her, but she also wanted to wait until further into the date. Miranda seemed to think the same thing because the next second she was stepping away towards the food.

Miranda sank onto the ground and settled onto the picnic blanket. It was an odd sight seeing Miranda sitting with only a blanket separating her from the dirt. There seemed to be something wrong with the picture, but also something just right, just for Andy.

She flopped across from Miranda and started to help the other woman pull everything out from the basket. She felt at the containers and found that they were still very much hot and she did a little mental dance. That was it then, all of her planning had turned out just fine, now all that was left was to enjoy it.

Andy pulled out the last thing, a bottle of wine and a corkscrew and just looked at it. She absolutely sucked at uncorking wine.

"So, do you know how to do this?" Andy brandished the bottle.

"How do you not?" Miranda asked, but took the bottle with no fuss and set to work.

"I know how to in theory, but every time I try something usually goes wrong and I end up hacking the cork out with a knife or something. Or getting other people to open if for me. It's worked so far."

Miranda snorted and then pulled out the cork as if it were nothing and reached for two of the plastic glasses and poured a healthy measure into each. "Oh Andrea." She handed Andy her glass and they both took a sip at the same time and sighed. It was very good wine made sweeter by the company.

They worked together in silence and dished out portions of everything that had been in the basket. Lobster ravioli and salad with tiramisu to share. She didn't exactly think of Italian food as picnic food, but it definitely worked and from the look on Miranda's face she liked it well enough and that's what really mattered.

Food eaten and dishes put away later they laid back on the blanket together and looked up at the stars. Miranda's finger traced the constellations. Andy watched as she outlined Cassiopeia and thought just how fitting it was. Miranda was a beautiful queen, all the good things of the mythic queen, but also arrogant and vain. She knew you couldn't really fall in love with someone unless you saw all sides of them, good and bad, and accepted them all. And she did, laying there, watching the other woman in this unguarded moment after a hellacious week of yelling and deadlines and knew that she did.

Miranda turned her head to see Andy looked at her and her hand fell back to the blanket. Suddenly there was no air between them anymore and Andy knew this time there was no going back. She inched forward and Miranda met her halfway.

This time the kiss was not light and fleeting. It was a real kiss, lips moving over lips easily and deeply for long moments until Miranda's tongue swiped against Andy's lips. Andy opened her mouth without hesitation and suddenly there was a whole other world of softness that she hadn't ever explored that she was desperate to. Miranda tasted of coffee and chocolate and wine and of stardust. It was perfect and all-consuming and if she had thought the chaste kiss back at Runway the week before had been life altering she had never been more wrong in her life because now it felt like her DNA had rearranged all around this moment to become an integral part of her.

They drew apart and Andy was slow to open her eyes, not wanting to come back from the far away planet she had just ended up on.

"I didn't know, it's cliché and I would shoot any editor who used this line, but I didn't know it could be like that," Miranda said in a breathless whisper. "But there are no other words for it I suppose." She frowned, concentrating for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm afraid you've taken my ability to think of a hundred ways to say something and thrown it far, far away from here."

"If it makes you feel any better I'm not sure I remember my name right now, so we're on a pretty level playing field. And I'm sure your ability will find its way back eventually. I hope mine does. I sort of need it." She was grinning like an idiot, she knew, but she didn't care, didn't think she'd ever care again.

"Yes, well, Andrea." And she drew Andy's name out so it was all Andy could do not to melt into a puddle right there on the blanket. "I do hope so. Words are useful in our profession, but also to describe just how well this has gone."

A smile curled onto Andy's face. "Yeah, it has."

"Sunday morning I'm free, if you would, perhaps, like to get breakfast."

Andy nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I would." She would be dragging after a double shift at the bar to make up for taking her late shift tonight off, but she would do it happily.

"Good."

And another silence stretched between them as they both turned to look at the stars again, feeling as vast as space itself, with just as many possibilities.


End file.
